CH 44

Grad and the Fairy Queen are facing each other; both are motionless.

It’s become a completely silent build up.

It’s a PvP Field, but in reality the MO1 should probably be handled like a Boss Fight.

A Boss that only player parties have the right to fight.

Because he’s by himself, Grad doesn’t use an aggressive battle style.

He takes the battle method to wait while enduring until he finds an opening to counter attack.

Since his main movements are to be a tank, that’s just how it is.

But it’s not like he’s just dully enduring; when up against the magic-based players you prepare your shield and rush with <Shield Charge> as the magic comes, forcefully repelling it back while breaking in; there’s that type of hunting movement to use.

On the other hand there’s the Queen, but her behavior is perfectly unknown.

She’s holding a staff so would it be a magic-user style? That prediction has promise,  but “One More” also has unarmed combat styles like I use, and staff combat styles also exist.

If you one-sidedly something’s the case in your head, you’ll end up having to pay a hefty fee for a hard lesson.

And, up ‘til now there’s been Fairies specialized in physical attacks and Fairies specialized in magic attacks, so it should be natural that it’s even more difficult to predict the attacks of the one who surpasses them and became Queen.

To immediately rush in at such an opponent would be way too short-sighted; Grad understood that much.

After continuing to glare at each other for about 10 seconds, the Queen lightly raised her staff, and with a light *ton* sound she purposefully struck the surface of the ground.

With that, the ground around Grad began to oscillate and crack; the attack against Grad had begun.

That’s the Earth Magic’s <Earthquake>, huh, though it was invoked with just about no casting time.

Though it doesn’t have much offensive power, it’s a magic that has the especially high effect to immobilize, however when it’s time for a player to use it, it’s one of the skills where fast-chanting is impossible and not practical so the casting time is a bottleneck and it’s a magic that’s strongly recognized as difficult to handle.

But if you succeed … your opponent won’t be able to keep a good footing to walk, nor be able to move as he wishes. Grad is completely in this situation.

But ‘that’ (Grad) also didn’t get impatient; <Earthquake>’s effect lasts at most 15 seconds.

And the damage by that is minimal; against Grad who is particularly good at enduring, I don’t know what the Queen was trying to do by stopping his feet instead before but it’s a good chance to scope her out.

Since she did that like so, then accordingly she uses magic and it would be probably be fine to think of her like a magic-based monster by my analysis.

Against the Grad with his feet unable to move, the Queen began to launch the intermediate magic <Fire Lance>, but against Grad they probably wouldn’t be able to, one after another, hit their target.

… If it was the normal amount, that is.

With just one Aria she simultaneously generated 5 of a combination of <Fire Lance>, <Wind Cutter>, and <Water Lance> and flooded Grad with the attacks.

Looking at the Queen it seems this is still just the beginning; it’s like at the level of playing wait-and-see?

But an attack to this degree is also easy for Grad; without using his shield he can withstand it by slicing the attacks with his sword with room to spare.

The people who were monitoring his HP gauge saw that it didn’t reduce in the slightest.

The winning ratio was only something we could use to catch a glimpse of a fragment of his monster-like strength.

The <Earthquake> has now settled down; with the ground surface calmed, this time it’s Grad who used the <Shield Charge> method to rush in an instant.

Needless to say, against an opponent that uses magic, it’s a bad idea to let it become a long-distance battle for a melee fighter; how to close in the distance in an instant and apply the pressure to attack is the most important.

It’s understood that all short-ranged players hate becoming clad in fireballs after taking repeated distance attacks over a prolonged period of time.

Therefore how Grad quickly used <Shield Charge> to close the distance is a textbook play; so far there’s been no mistakes.

… that’s gonna be bad; there were probably a small portion of players who thought that.

The common knowledge of the majority of users of Wind Magic data stops at 15, and even the Wiki hasn’t caught up and only has up to around 30.

Of course there are probably Wind Magic users other than me.

However, they don’t have that habit of absolutely having to post the information to the Wiki or else, and for Wind Magic, the Wiki specifies that it’s useful enough to make it to <Wind Buster> so the majority of players haven’t confirmed anything further.

It’s a pity, but it seems like that’s the case for Grad too.

Grad covers his body with the large shield and attacks full-speed ahead.

For a certain distance, <Shield Charge> runs through and won’t stop unless you hit your opponent.

And even if a direct hit is avoided by moving a little left or right, <Shield Charge>’s shockwave will] still attack the opponent; it has this kind of capability so therefore it’s the absolute, most dependable Arts for a shield user.

Before the Wall-type magic from the Fairies came out, whether or not you could handle <Shield Charge> was known to be the crucial factor in PvP against shield users.

That strength is well known … and therefore its weakness has been found.

That’s right, the Queen used the Wind Magic <Fly> to jump; she completely jumped over the Grad who was charging in.

<Shield Charge> is certainly strong, but even if you say that, if the back is taken it will be a chance for the opponent, since the shield’s range, as expected, doesn’t cover the back.

In other words, you could say that for the Queen all the magic just before was only bait to lure in this <Shield Charge>

Immediately the Queen to that chance and chanted <Shock>, firing it at Grad’s back.

From the point of Grad who suddenly took an attack to the back, that reliable quality of <Shield Charge>, the ability to continue to run forward full force, became his enemy; he can’t turn around.

And so the evident result was that Shock hit dead on.

And there’s the full-body heavy armor and one-handed sword and shield. Since he’s covered in metal equipment, a stun was even induced.

Who would have thought that the Queen had considered everything up until here.

The Queen immediately began a new magic aria, but the casting time is strangely long.

“Take this as you can, <High Explosion> …”

Taking the measures to announce the magic’s name, I wonder if it’s to teach us about her own exclusive magic?

Within a stun you aren’t able to move, but vision and hearing are properly there.

In other words … she’s trying to instill fear into him!? Just how much of a self-awareness does she have?

After that announcement, without mercy she fired the fireball magic.

The fireballs will undo the stun, but when they hit the back of Grad, who still can’t perform any actions since he can’t move, they mercilessly exploded ….

――――――――――――――――――――――――

In the wreckages after the raging explosion ended there’s the figure of Grad who’s standing despite have a large amount of HP reduced; as expected of a Tank, to be able to endure that magic carrying that much power without any tricks, just pure endurance.

But he’s been inflected with 1 of the Bad Statuses, [Burn], that little HP is bit by bit being wasted away, and MP should also be reducing.

Grad hurriedly invoked <Wind Buster> to take some distance and took out a Potion to drink.

But right then … like it was aiming for that, a lightning strike fell and burnt Grad.

It’s most likely an advanced Wind Magic; I don’t really know enough information, but I think I could call it <Lightning>? I can speculate that it’s an aim-able ranged magic though.

With that blow Grad dropped the Potion.

He didn’t get another Stun, but the Queen was able to completely disrupt him from using his item; honestly speaking, I’m feeling a little terrified.

Now then, from what I’ve seen so far, this compatibility is way too bad for Grad.

Just at long-distance she’s able to strike out with overpowering strength; against the Charge attacks she uses <Fly> to jump over them.

If he gets near I bet she could defend with the Fairy exclusive Wall Magic.

You can’t get close; having to fight with closing the distance, for players whose main is melee-based, the compatibility with this Fairy Queen is beyond the worst!

Without people like me with bow attacks, or people who can participate in a magic contest, in the back as support steadily shaving her HP, there’s probably no chance to win.

It might be that she learned how to deal with melee-types by learning while being by Grad’s side and watching.

What he hates, how he evades, how he attacks; like that, by Grad’s side greedily absorbing by watching, and now it’s the finishing touches as she tests them out …

At this moment, a chill assaulted me that could give me goosebumps, though since I’m in the game it’s not possible.

If it’s like that, from the beginning there wasn’t a chance for Grad to win!

Most of his attacks and his counter methods are known, and even his timing is exposed, but on the other hand there’s absolutely no information on the Queen; it’s a huge difference.

This situation with only one-side getting information is like playing a war-game!

That’s why she knew his habit for when he uses items and could get the timing to hit out and make him drop it …

It’s probably absurd but she even has coherency … this really isn’t just some regular AI!

The rest is now just for show; it’s just the cruelty of shaving off HP little by little …

Truthfully, directly afterwards, though it’s a flashy magic, the Queen calmly and steadily used <Fire Lance> shaved off Grad’s HP.

Grad still attacked without seeming to give up, but the Charge line of attacks can’t deal with it since they could only be used to hit one attack head on, and his few long-distance attack methods were all negated to oblivion.

And without mercy it shaved off his HP and gave him the Burn Bad Status.

He was carrying the cure, but when he went to use it a lightning bolt immediately interfered, and then further damage accumulated in a vicious cycle.

… He’s completely cornered.  Grad can only wait to be defeated …

And the Queen calmly and ruthlessly accomplished that task.

――――――――――――――――――

When the PvP ended, there were the forms of Grad with his spirit completely broken, sitting down in protest, and the one who was looking at that Grad, the Queen.

The Queen shifted her line of sight to Silver …

“With this, I suppose I’ve taken him down a few notches. I leave the rest to you. And you too, even if you’re looking out for someone who is younger than you, I request that you speak with him as an equal.”

She informed him like so. Silver answers with,

“… I give thee my thanks; even though this should have originally been something this old man should have done.”

He responds as such and bows his head.

After that, along with the Game Master, Grad and Silver take their exit.

With this I guess there’s nothing more to announce; have all the expectations the devs have had about the development up until now been satisfied?

There have been absolutely no flustered movements after all.

So this will be the end … is what I thought.

“And now … There are 3 people that I must bestow merit to, aren’t there; Do excuse me, but I will take the liberty to call you in front of me.”

The Fairy Queen declared, and waved her staff.

Immediately I was surrounded by a burst of light and was transported.

When the light settled down, in front of my eyes was the Fairy Queen.

When I looked to the left and right, there were the other two people; the common factor we had was the [Fairy Seducer] title overhead glittering in 7 different colors.

SKILLS

[Wind-Blown Hunting Bow]Lv1

[Kicking Assault]Lv12

[Farsight]Lv47

[Craftsmanship]Lv45

[Cooking]Lv49

[Alchemy]Lv40

[Stealth]Lv37

[Physical Ability Reinforcement]Lv16

[Thief]Lv33

[Whip]Lv34

Reserved Skills

[Woodworking]Lv26

[Blacksmithing]Lv30

Title Possessed: Fairy Seducer

—

A/N: At long last the curtains close on Grad and the others’ role!

Now we’re coming back to the protagonist’s turn.

I didn’t think the parts up until here would turn out so long.

All the characters started moving as they wished, and they talked a whole bunch.

How troublesome.